Oracle’s TikTok bid has the support of President Trump
Ask about reports that Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) will make a bid for ByteDance (BDNCE) TikTok, President Trump said, “Well, I think Oracle is a great company and I think its owner is a great man, a great person. I think Oracle would certainly be one who could handle it. ”Earlier this month, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) said the purchase held talks with ByteDance and the White House. Last week, Trump gave ByteDance 90 days to sell TikTok’s US operations.
Go deeper: See the timeline of how TikTok got caught up in politics
FDA to begin reviewing Juul products
Juul Labs (JUUL) says the FDA will begin evaluating its applications for its e-cigarette device and certain nicotine patterns in a step forward for the company. Juul submitted the applications to the FDA late last month and asked for permission to sell the products. Another wildcard was added to the mix earlier this week when Stanford researchers said they found teens and young adults who were using electronic cigarettes at a much higher risk of developing COVID-19. The substantive review process by the FDA was able to re-create the US market. In the wings awaits Altria (NYSE: MO), which received a 35% stake in July 2018.
ViacomCBS in talks to sell CNET for ~ $ 500M
The reunited Viacom-CBS is in talks to sell its CNET unit to Red Ventures, a digital media company. ViacomCBS (NASDAQ: VIAC) aims to distribute non-core assets and use the extra cash to focus on video streaming. They discuss a price of ~ $ 500M, the Wall Street Journal reports, with quotes from people familiar with the matter. The two companies have not yet reached a final deal and talks could still fall apart, the people said.
Go deeper: Dive into ViacomCBS’s profitability and underlying metrics
Takeda Pharma in talks to sell Japan unit for consumer health to Blackstone
In a bid to refocus its business and reduce debt following its $ 59B acquisition of Shire, Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical (NYSE: THANKS) plans to sell its consumer care unit (generating 3% of total sales) to the US fund Blackstone (NYSE: BX) for $ 2.85B (¥ 300B), reports Reuters. The talks are in the final stages and the companies plan to close the deal by the end of this month. Both companies commented on the report.
Go deeper: See the finances of Takeda Pharmaceutical
Italy must submit EU recovery plan in two months
Italy – an early hotspot for COVID-19 worldwide – will submit a recovery plan to the European Union in mid-October, says Prime Minister Guiseppe Conte, in line with EU stimulus plans. The government is currently identifying investment and reform projects that are in line with EU support, he says. He characterized the likely stimulus of € 209B as an opportunity to transform Italy’s economy.
Japanese exports fall for the fifth straight month
Pine remained for the third largest economy in the world, as Japanese exports nosedived 19.2% Y / Y in July. This was slightly better than the forecast of a decline of 21% and improvement of the June fall of 26.2%. Imports fell 22.3% Y / Y in July, resulting in a trade surplus of ¥ 11.6B. Nikkei went close 0.26%.
Regeneron teams up with Roche to triple supply of its COVID-19 medication
Regeneron (NASDAQ: RAIN) is enrolled rival Roche (OTCQX: RHHBY) to increase the supply of their COVID-19 medicine, REGN-COV2, through a new manufacturing / distribution deal. The regulation was able to boost the overall capacity of the drug by 3.5 times as approved by regulators. REGN-COV2 is currently in late-stage clinical trials, and initial results are expected by the end of September, which could lead to a one-year authorization for emergency use. Regeneron will handle U.S. distribution, with Roche handling elsewhere.
The world’s largest shipping company expects container demand to fall significantly this year
Maersk (OTCPK: AMKAF) reported departure of Q2 revenue from 6.5% to $ 9B due to ocean volume with 16% to 2,903k FFE. The average cargo traffic increased by 4.5% to 1,915 USD / FFE. While the company revised its $ 6-7B FY20 EBITDA guidance, it expects a “significant decline” in container demand for the rest of the year.
